As businesses grow, their financial needs become more complex. What once worked in the early stages, basic bookkeeping, simple reporting, and reactive decision-making, can eventually start holding a business back.
At some point, business owners move beyond simply tracking what happened last month and start asking bigger questions:
- Are we making the right strategic decisions?
- Can we afford to grow?
- Is our cash flow prepared for what’s ahead?
- Are we missing opportunities?
- What is our business actually worth?
That’s where CFO-level thinking comes in.
In Episode 7 of Ask a DHJJ CPA, Emma Yurchik sits down with DHJJ Outsourced CFO professional Mark Ruenz to discuss how growing businesses can shift from reactive financial management to proactive strategic planning. They cover the differences between bookkeeping, accounting, controllers, and CFOs, how budgeting and forecasting drive better decisions, and why many businesses benefit from fractional CFO support before hiring a full-time executive.
What This Episode Answers
This episode explores questions many growing business owners eventually face, including:
- What’s the difference between bookkeeping, accounting, a controller, and a CFO?
- When does a business outgrow basic financial reporting?
- What does “thinking like a CFO” actually mean?
- What are the signs a business may need strategic financial support?
- How do budgeting and forecasting help guide decision-making?
- Why should businesses regularly update forecasts throughout the year?
- How does forecasting impact tax planning and cash flow management?
- What happens when businesses wait too long to become proactive?
- What is a fractional CFO, and when does it make sense?
- How can an integrated advisory team help businesses make smarter decisions?
Episode Summary
Many business owners think of a CFO as something only large corporations need. But according to Mark Ruenz, CFO-level thinking becomes important long before a business reaches enterprise size.
Throughout the episode, Mark explains that bookkeeping and accounting roles are primarily focused on recording and reporting historical financial information, while a CFO focuses on the future. CFOs help businesses anticipate challenges, evaluate opportunities, and make strategic decisions using financial data as a roadmap.
The conversation dives into practical examples of how businesses evolve financially as they grow. Whether a company is considering acquisitions, expanding operations, investing in equipment, hiring new employees, or preparing for retirement and succession planning, CFO-level strategy helps owners think proactively rather than reactively.
A major focus of the episode is budgeting and forecasting. Mark emphasizes that budgets are not meant to predict the future perfectly. Instead, they act as guideposts that help businesses stay aligned with long-term goals while adapting to changing conditions throughout the year.
The discussion also highlights the value of cash flow forecasting, tax planning coordination, and having access to strategic financial guidance without necessarily hiring a full-time executive. For many growing businesses, a fractional CFO model provides the flexibility and expertise needed during periods of growth, transition, or increased complexity.
Finally, Mark explains how DHJJ’s integrated approach allows clients to benefit from collaboration across advisory, tax, assurance, accounting, and financial planning teams, giving business owners access to broader expertise as they grow.
Understanding the Difference Between Bookkeeping, Accounting, Controllers, and CFOs
One of the first things Mark explains in the episode is that every financial role inside a business serves a different purpose, and as businesses grow, their financial needs evolve.
Bookkeepers typically handle day-to-day transactions like accounts payable, invoicing, and applying customer payments. Accounting roles often expand into month-end close processes, journal entries, and financial reporting. Controllers oversee internal controls, operational reporting, compliance, and financial accuracy across the business.
A CFO, however, focuses on the future.
Rather than simply reporting what has already happened, CFOs help businesses evaluate what comes next. That includes growth planning, forecasting, acquisitions, capital investments, operational strategy, and long-term financial decision-making.
When Businesses Outgrow Basic Financial Reporting
Many business owners don’t wake up one day and suddenly decide they need a CFO. More often, the need develops gradually as the business becomes more complex.
Mark explains that businesses often reach a turning point when owners begin asking bigger strategic questions:
- Should we acquire another company?
- Can we afford to expand?
- Is our cash flow prepared for growth?
- What is the business worth?
- Are we making the right long-term decisions?
These questions go beyond historical reporting and require forward-looking analysis and planning. That shift from simply tracking performance to actively shaping the future is where CFO-level support becomes valuable.
Reactive vs. Strategic Financial Management
Throughout the episode, Mark emphasizes the difference between reactive financial management and strategic financial leadership.
Reactive businesses often spend their time solving immediate problems, responding to operational issues, and making decisions after challenges appear. Strategic financial planning focuses on anticipating problems before they happen and preparing accordingly.
That might mean identifying future hiring needs before growth creates staffing shortages, forecasting equipment replacements before operations are disrupted, or preparing cash reserves before slower periods impact the business.
As Mark explains, strong forecasting and strategic planning help businesses “see the writing on the wall” before problems become urgent.
Why Budgeting and Forecasting Matter More Than Business Owners Think
One of the biggest themes of the episode is reframing how business owners think about budgeting.
Mark openly acknowledges that budgets will never be perfectly accurate. In fact, he jokes that “as soon as you press save, it’s going to change.” But that doesn’t make budgeting less valuable.
Instead, budgets serve as a guidepost for where a business wants to go. Forecasting then allows businesses to adjust throughout the year as real-world conditions change.
The episode walks through how forecasts help businesses:
- Monitor whether they’re staying on track
- Adjust for changing revenue or expenses
- Respond to staffing changes
- Anticipate operational challenges
- Improve future decision-making
Mark also describes budgets as “guardrails” that help businesses stay aligned with long-term goals, even when conditions shift.
The Connection Between Forecasting, Tax Planning, and Cash Flow
The conversation also highlights how strategic financial planning supports proactive tax planning and cash flow management.
Mark explains that budgets and forecasts help DHJJ’s tax team prepare more accurate quarterly estimates and reduce surprises during tax season. When projections change throughout the year, updated forecasts can help businesses adjust tax planning strategies proactively instead of reacting after year-end.
The episode also dives into cash flow forecasting and why maintaining cash reserves is so important for growing businesses. Forecasting helps business owners identify periods where cash may become tighter, prepare for major purchases, and avoid making reactive financial decisions under pressure.
What Happens When Businesses Wait Too Long to Think Strategically
Mark also discusses the risks businesses face when they delay strategic financial planning.
Without forward-looking forecasting and planning, businesses may miss hiring opportunities, delay important investments, struggle with cash flow surprises, or make reactive decisions that create additional stress for ownership and leadership teams.
One of the most important themes throughout the conversation is confidence. When business owners have accurate, forward-looking financial information, they can make decisions more confidently and spend less time worrying about uncertainty.
Why Fractional CFO Services Can Make Sense for Growing Businesses
Not every growing company needs a full-time CFO, and that’s where the fractional CFO model comes in.
Mark explains that many businesses only need executive-level financial guidance during specific times of the year, during periods of growth, or when major decisions arise. A fractional CFO gives businesses access to strategic expertise without the cost of hiring a full-time executive.
That flexibility allows businesses to bring in support for:
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Cash flow planning
- Growth strategy
- Operational analysis
- Temporary leadership transitions
- Acquisition support
- Executive-level financial guidance
For many businesses, it becomes a practical way to access higher-level strategic insight while continuing to scale responsibly.
How DHJJ’s Integrated Advisory Team Supports Clients
Toward the end of the episode, Mark explains one of DHJJ’s biggest advantages: clients don’t just gain access to one professional, they gain access to an entire team.
Because DHJJ’s advisory, tax, assurance, outsourced accounting, CFO, and financial planning teams work collaboratively, clients benefit from broader expertise and more integrated planning.
Whether the discussion involves tax strategy, succession planning, R&D credits, financial reporting, or retirement planning, the firm’s integrated approach allows specialists across departments to work together to support the client’s broader goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a CFO do for a growing business?
A CFO helps businesses make forward-looking financial decisions. This includes budgeting, forecasting, cash flow planning, growth strategy, operational analysis, acquisitions, and long-term planning.
What is the difference between a controller and a CFO?
Controllers typically focus on financial reporting, internal controls, and operational oversight. CFOs use financial information strategically to help guide future business decisions and growth planning.
What is a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO provides part-time or project-based CFO services. Businesses gain access to strategic financial expertise without hiring a full-time executive.
When should a business consider hiring a fractional CFO?
Businesses often benefit from fractional CFO support during periods of growth, increased complexity, acquisitions, succession planning, cash flow concerns, or when leadership needs additional financial guidance.
Why are budgets important if they constantly change?
Budgets provide direction and accountability. Even though actual results will vary, budgets help businesses establish goals, monitor progress, and make informed adjustments throughout the year.
What is cash flow forecasting?
Cash flow forecasting helps businesses predict future cash availability so they can prepare for expenses, investments, seasonal slowdowns, and operational needs before problems
Transcript
Emma
Welcome back to Ask a DHJJ CPA, the podcast where real CPAs answer real questions from business owners.
I’m your host, Emma Yurchik
One thing we see all the time is that as businesses grow, their financial needs change, but their approach to finances doesn’t always keep up.
You might start with basic bookkeeping, then move into a more structured accounting, but at some point, good enough financials stop being enough.
So today we’re talking about that turning point, when it’s time to start thinking like a CFO, and what does that actually mean for growing businesses?
I’m joined by Mark Renz today.
He’s part of our Outsourced CFO team here at EHJJ, where he provides part-time and interim CFO services to clients.
He has over 25 years of experience working closely with growing businesses on budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow planning, helping them move from reactive to a more decision-making strategic focus.
Thank you so much for being here today, Mark.
I’m excited to hear your perspective on today’s topic.
To start off, I’d love for you to share in your own words what your role looks like day-to-day and the types of businesses you typically work with.
Mark
Absolutely.
Thank you, Emma, for having me.
Happy to be here and on the podcast.
So, my day-to-day, it really does vary depending on what line I’m working on and who needs what type of things, but it does absolutely vary in terms of
One day, I might be doing cash flow forecasting, as you mentioned, as well as the next day it could be helping out with a health insurance question that a company might be thinking about for renewal.
Can I save on premiums, etc.
So, it really can vary day-to-day.
I can also get involved with doing financial forecasting and reporting to benchmark against industry standards for that business.
So again, it can really vary day-to-day, which is part of what I love.
Emma
Got it.
Well, I think a lot of people hear that term CFO and immediately think big company, full-time executive, but let’s break this down.
How would you explain the difference between bookkeeping, accounting, a controller, and a CFO?
Mark
Yeah, very good questions, and I think they’re all unique in their own way.
And by speaking of this, it’s not to discredit one role over another, but there are advancements through the career of like, an accounting role.
And in that perspective, bookkeeping, in my mind, would be just more that day-to-day transactional person recording accounts payable invoices and paying those bills on time, processing customer invoices, and collecting and applying the payments against that AR that was set on the balance sheet.
Those will be typical bookkeeping-type transactions or responsibilities.
When you go into an accounting role, that might include more engagement at month-end to do proper close processes, getting things in line, booking journal entries, and things of that sort, which a bookkeeper may not be comfortable doing those things.
It really does depend on what level of complexity there might be in the journal entries that they’re preparing on a monthly or quarterly basis.
So that’s kind of an accounting role there.
A controller, in my mind, that would be a higher-level overseeing the, I’ll say, the controls, the internal controls around segregation of duties, doing a more formal, maybe a financial report out of month-end close, quarterly close, et cetera.
They can also get into the other operational areas of the business, inventory management, helping with like bigger, larger companies where there’s customer master pricing type aspects, inventory, physical inventories, things of that sort.
They might oversee those responsibilities and things of that sort.
So a controller really is holistic on the whole business, looking at the ways to mitigate risk, things of that sort, support auditors. When you have external auditors coming through to do annual audits and that sort of thing.
And then finally on the CFO role, he may look to a controller on where we are to date for actuals, but then he or she may be applying that on the go forward of that strategic look of what does that mean in three to five years if we’re going to grow or expand or maybe take a division out of our business, etc.
Emma
Okay, so it sounds like the bookkeeping, accounting, controller, that’s more looking at the, you know, past reporting, what’s going on currently, but then the CFO is forward-looking.
So where does the shift from reporting to forward-looking strategy really happen?
You know, is there a certain period of time where a business needs to start looking at what that future is really going to be, rather than focusing solely on the reporting and what’s happening today in the business?
Mark
Yeah, great question.
And yeah, it can vary, honestly, on when that might happen.
But in one situation, we could say, you know, again, the CEO of a business or present owner of a business, you know, comes to his right-hand person in finance to say, “I’m really happy with where we’re at today, but I would like to grow my business and go externally beyond what we’re currently capable of.”
So, “I want to go and acquire a business” type of scenario.
It’s a perfect example of…where, you know, again, a controller might be like, well, I can provide you all the actuals we’ve performed on, but again, strategically finding the right fit in terms of like what you would want to acquire.
Maybe it’s just one certain area of your business.
You want to kind of bolt on some technology and acquire some software or something.
So that’s where a CFO would be more, I think, ready and able to help with that process and give assistance in terms of understanding what books you’re looking at for acquisition or what business you’re looking at for acquisition, and then allow those conversations to happen at the executive level inside your company.
Emma
Okay.
So, I feel like you really have touched on this, but is there anything else that you can think of that makes that CFO level thinking different?
Mark
I would say from my experience, and what I think we bring in terms of that CFO, a lot of times, you have to understand, obviously, what is currently taking place in your business.
A lot of times, I feel as though once I get to understand the business or the industry that they’re in,
A CFO sometimes can almost see the writing on the wall before it happens.
So they can almost have a forecast of a predictable output if we don’t change direction.
So there’s sometimes that initiative that they realize before it happens.
And then that’s when you have to kind of redirect the ship and steer clear of that trouble, or just know that you’re going to go through that and be financially sound to be able to survive.
Emma
Wow.
Very, very important. Very, very helpful.
So instead of just telling you what’s happened, the CFO is really helping you decide what to do next.
Right?
Mark
Yes.
Emma
So let’s talk about what this actually looks like in real life, because most business owners, I don’t think, you know, wake up and say, All right, today’s the day, I need a CFO.
So what are some of the signs that you’re seeing that a business has outgrown those basic financials and needs to get a CFO in there?
Mark
Yeah, I would say, you know, to those business owners,
In one way, if you’re having difficulty sleeping because you’re wrestling with where you’re at, maybe you’re doing very well, and you’re successful, and you’re just wrestling with, you know, is there something I’m missing?
Those types of things are where just having that sounding board of a fractional CFO comes in and gives you another perspective.
And it could just totally be where you’re going to get reassurance that you’re exactly where you need to And again, we’ll ask those difficult questions of are you happy with where you’re at?
Are you looking to grow?
Are you close to retirement?
We can do planning in all of those areas. What are you happy with today?
What’s keeping you up at night?
Answer that question for us, and then maybe we can help either provide comfort in that exactly where you’re at is what you need to be doing, or maybe there are a couple of adjustments that we can recommend.
And of course, it’s ultimately up to you.
Our goal is to give you sound financial recommendations, and ultimately, you can choose if you take those or not.
It’s your decision as the owner.
Emma
Absolutely.
I think two things that you touched on, it’s two sides of a coin, right?
It’s the things that are keeping you up at night, but it’s also the growth signals and the things that are going very well that may indicate that you’re ready for that next step.
Are there any specific growth signals that you could point to as signs that it may be time?
Mark
Yeah, so it depends on your business, depends on your industry, of course.
But I would say, you know, if there are times when, and we’ve heard this from clients that we’re working with currently, they are getting reached out to on a weekly and monthly basis for consideration of acquisition, right?
And they might have that question of, I don’t know what my business is worth, those types of things, right?
So those questions may come up to where they just don’t necessarily know if what is being offered is reasonable or not.
So that’s another area, again, in the CFO realm, we can help in the quality of earnings and valuations for your business.
But it could just be something where you’ve been with one insurance company for five years, and you’re like, I think it’s time to go out and reassess.
What offerings do we have? Are we covered?
Do we have adequate insurance for what we do?
If you have trucks on the road, obviously, you want to make sure you’re covered for everything, plus you want to protect your business.
So opportunities in that area are also important to consider and make sure that you are comfortable with where you’re at.
Emma
That makes sense.
You know, I kind of want to shift gears a little bit because we’re starting to edge on this conversation of, you know, reactive versus strategic.
So let’s talk about that shift.
What does it actually look like when a business starts thinking more like a CFO? How does that change decision-making?
Mark
So I think, you know, reactive is a lot of times you’re putting out fire, right?
You’re realizing something went wrong, and you kind of have to fix that in order to move on.
Strategic, is, like I said in the earlier part of this episode, sometimes you can almost see it coming before it happens.
And if you’re prepared for that, again, you can maybe even avoid what could have happened if you didn’t anticipate.
And that can be for many things, right?
And we’ll g et into some of these topics, but cash flow.
There might be an old piece of equipment that you’ve had for years, and it’s basically well beyond its useful life.
And when’s the right time to invest in that new piece of equipment?
Maybe it’s, you know, end of your sale.
Maybe it’s when your cash is looking really good, but that can have, you know, trade-offs in terms of are you giving up operational cash for that capital need?
And then six months from then, you’re realizing, you needed that cash for operations and things of that sort.
So the thought of forward look and anticipation of what’s ahead, and this goes into other topics, we’ll get to budgeting, forecasting, it all kind of plays together in terms of if you can understand where your business has been, where it’s headed, that makes our lives easier as CFOs to help guide you for what are the best decisions for any excess cash we have.
Do you have equipment needs, those type of things for reinvestment?
Or again, can you think otherwise, acquisition wise, you want to grow and expand?
Where can we best use your cash surplus if you have that and apply it towards your strategic goals going forward?
Emma
Absolutely.
You mentioned in there, the budgeting and forecasting piece, and I really want to talk about that and hone in on it.
So how do you explain the difference between a budget and a forecast to clients?
Mark
First thing I always say, and I know many people don’t see the value in a budget, but it is a goal, it is a guideline.
I use the version of, or the sentence of, as soon as you press save, it’s going to change, meaning your budget file will not come out exactly as you budgeted.
Your actuals will never align as you budget, but it’s a goal, and it’s set in writing, right?
Or a virtual save format of this is where we want to take our company in the next 12 months.
So that’s a budget forecast is where I say you overlay the months of actuals into that budgeted file, and then you kind of re-predict your 12-month look.
So, right, let’s say you’re closing March, year to date, right, calendar year business, and you had a budget for the 12 months ending December.
A forecast, you would have three months of actual and nine months of a forecast.
That still gives you a full-year projection.
And then you can compare that to your original budget and be like, ” Am I on track, or am I falling off my original goal?”
And if so, in a positive way, negative way, if it’s different, where?
And then you start to answer your questions of why it is different?
Are my employee headcounts way high?
Are my shipping costs going up?
Are my fuel costs going higher?
Or, you know, again, am I having savings that I didn’t originally anticipate in my budget?
That’s a good thing, but that’s fine.
Then anticipate that in your forecast, and then that just helps your projections going forward as well.
Very helpful in distinguishing between the two.
Emma
And I have to say that what you said about budgets really resonated with me.
You know, when you’re saying that the second you hit save, it’s going to change.
I can tell you, just in my role with DHJJ, when I am creating a budget, and it starts to change and adjust, it stresses me out.
You know, I don’t like not going exactly to plan.
So how do you help people navigate something like that and that stress?
Mark
Yeah, and it’s a very tough area because some people are perfectionists and they want to say that their budget is going to actually take place.
And I think it’s just reality that over, you know, again, the 25 years that I’ve been in the career, I’ve gotten comfortable with the fact that you’re never going to come on exactly as you budgeted.
So with that, just knowing that you have a budget, some people discredit putting that time into creating a budget.
Because they say, ” What’s the point? It’s going to change tomorrow.”
Yes, it is, but at least it helps you and your business have a dedicated direction that you want to go and achieve by the end of your calendar year, right?
So with that, you can even get more strategic in going like a three to five year budget where you’re not just focusing on your 12 months, but you can get into like a rolling forecast budget of I want to see, you know, 36 months out, 60 months out in terms of if we stay the course as is,
What’s that trajectory look like?
And if that’s not where you want to be, then you have plenty of time in that to redirect and make changes and grow your business accordingly.
Emma
Definitely.
I think this is a great way to frame budgets and forecasting.
And I think it’s very, very helpful.
Thank you.
So why is it important to update projections throughout the year?
Mark
So, as I said before, what you budgeted will not take place.
A lot of times, you can be pretty spot on with your employees if you’re not experiencing a lot of turnover, things of that sort.
But undoubtedly, things will change.
So I think that reforecasts are really important to say, I accept what’s happened.
And if I want to achieve that ultimate original budget, if you’re headed in the wrong direction, meaning you have too high expenses or your revenues are behind plan,
It gives you that time to redirect or mitigate how you’re going to resolve those issues.
It allows you to, you know, again, if you lost a sales rep and you’re realizing your sales are down, well, you’ve got to hire that replacement and get those sales back on target.
You know, those types of things allow you to identify, again, where you’re seeing positives and negatives.
And then overall, as long as you can explain and are comfortable with the variances to your original budget, a reforecast, it can look completely different than the original budget.
You can change every single line item of your budget if you really want to be that aggressive.
A lot of people just change two or three main levers, and then that way it allows them to get back on the path to the original plan.
Emma
So, and correct me if I’m wrong here, but the way that you’re explaining it, the way that it’s resonating with me is it is less a hard and fast plan and more something to help you throughout the year to understand where you’re going, where you’ve been, if there are any changes happening along the way.
Am I understanding that correctly?
Mark
Yeah, yeah.
Another phrase you could use is it’s a guardrail, right?
It helps keep you on the path you originally planned for.
And to your point, the budget assumptions could be way off in one area.
And a reforecast, it gives the opportunity to update those assumptions that you put in to the original budget and then forecast in a closer to reality, closer to what is actually transpiring on your month-to-month actuals.
Emma
Got it.
Again, thank you for running through this.
I think it is a great way to kind of reframe how these are so useful, rather than, like you said, some business owners, some people, just in general working within business, don’t always like to hear the word budgeting.
So definitely a different way to think about it.
So I’m curious, how does all of this tie into tax planning? Does it tie into tax planning?
Mark
It absolutely does, yeah.
And cash flow forecasting.
There are so many different areas than just those two topics: a budget and then a forecast.
In my roles, again, here at DHJJ, a couple of businesses that I work with, doing a budget and then being able to provide that to the tax team here at DHJJ, and be like, this is where we’re anticipating to go.
It allows the tax department to do what they do best, and they can do their quarterly estimates based on what I am feeding them by working with the business owner on this is what they think 2026 will be like.
And then that way they can pay in their quarterly estimates evenly over the whole year, right?
And hopefully close to that.
And then, in the role of if there’s a significant change to what we originally budgeted and you do that re-forecast and you’re like, you know what, they’re going to be making significantly more than what we originally planned, feed that to the tax team, and then those estimates would be adjusted accordingly.
And then that way, there are no surprises come tax filing.
And that’s the great partnership within your firm.
Emma
You mentioned cash flow forecasting as well, besides the tax planning.
Can you dive a little bit deeper into that?
Mark
Yes, absolutely.
And again, cash is king, right, in terms of the business.
A lot of us learn that.
So I think it’s very important to be able to apply not just your original budget, but your forecast to, you know, cash projection as well, as I’ll put it.
And in that term, a lot of times you’ll take those forecasts and then you roll those through a cash projection process, and then that will obviously highlight areas or months where, you know, maybe things are a little bit leaner, and you have to watch your cash spend, perhaps make decisions or get a little more aggressive on collections, those types of things.
Anything you can do to predict the future of, like, you know, again, I encourage clients to have a cash reserve for these dips where, you know, things might get a little bit leaner on operating cash flow.
So, from that perspective, three to six months of operating cash in reserve is always good.
But without that forecast feeding you to predict where your cash might go or be, it’s difficult to know or again, anticipate what is to come if things don’t change or you don’t deviate or make a change in direction of how you’re spending your cash.
So those types of things are always just good planning.
And that way, again, you’re well ahead of the lower-end type worst-case scenario situations where cash is lean, and you’ve got to make really tough decisions as a business owner.
Emma
Yeah, I think you continue to highlight the importance of that strategic future look.
You know, I do want to shift gears a little bit and kind of talk about that flip side.
So like, what happens when a business waits too long to make that shift from, you know, focusing on the reporting and the today versus the strategic outlook?
Mark
A couple of things that can come to mind for me, Emma, is, you know, one, say you’re in a really tough industry where valuable resources only come up once in a while. And say an employee comes on the market and you take a pass.
Hindsight, right?
Three months later, maybe you’re like, ” Oh, if I only had known that my business was going to grow and that excellent sales rep would have fit in tremendously well, and he would have just been on board and fully understood the business by the time he got to that three-month mark.”
Those types of things, you know, if he can predict that you’re going to need that extra headcount in the months to come, and a resource becomes available, right?
That’s a missed opportunity where you could have had something great, and then you’re maybe left now to hire the next best employee, of course, but it’s just sometimes coulda, shoulda, woulda type of thing. I wish I could have known at the time.
And that can come up with, you know, again, the cash flow forecasting for a capital requirement.
Again, maybe there are times of the year when you can get better pricing on a piece of equipment, machinery, or something that you may need.
Again, some people wait till the end of the year to get that deduction in.
And if you knew earlier that was going to be a need, if your planning and forecasting were in line, maybe it wouldn’t have been the end of your decision.
Maybe it would have been mid-year, and you could take full advantage of that asset for half of your business year instead of just, you know, 15 days of the end of the tax year type thing for deduction, et cetera.
And yeah, I mean, other things would be just the stress and the whereabouts of, are you doing the right thing for your business on a day-to-day basis?
I feel like the more we can gain and give the business owners confidence in what they’re doing and the trajectory they’re on is exactly what they told us they’ve wanted to accomplish.
It’s going to make them better leaders in the business.
It’s going to make them be more confident in their day-to-day decisions, and ultimately, a part of our goal as CFOs is to get that financial information to the business owners as quickly as we can, as accurately as possible, so that they can make the decisions for tomorrow.
And I think knowing, and those types of prompts where, you know, we can give that information to them, just lets them feel much more comfortable in how they’re running their business, and maybe they can actually enjoy a little bit more of not being overwhelmed with everything that they have to do business-wise.
Emma
Sounds like a stress relief, financial stress relief, operational stress relief, all of that, the uncertainty too.
Sounds like it helps with all of that.
So we have talked about this already.
You know, when does it make sense to bring in that level of support?
You know, what are those key inflection points?
We talked about growth, complexity, major decisions, transitions, but can you walk me through a little bit, you know, there’s the hiring a CFO option, right?
But then there’s also hiring a fractional CFO option.
So I was hoping that you could walk us through what that fractional model is, how it works, what it means, and why that might be a good option versus a full time CFO.
Mark
Yeah, absolutely.
And, you know, again, I think it really depends on every business, every situation that they’re in.
But speaking like a true accountant and CFO, if you don’t have to spend the money to hire a full-time employee, does it really make sense too?
And I think that’s where DHJJ and our fractional CFO offerings, it might be a resource you need to use three times a month.
And it could be heavy around budget time, right?
So, towards the end of the year, you’re creating the budget for the next year.
Okay, at certain periods of time when projects or specific needs come up, that’s the perfect opportunity for, again, a part-time executive-level member to join your table and offer their decisions or opinions towards your questions or needs.
And I think from there, again, it doesn’t require a full-time employee with benefits and the whole nine yards for an executive-level position.
And again, we can come in with various models of how we offer our services to you.
And in that perspective, you use us when it’s required, or if you have a one-off question, send an e-mail, and we’ll get back to you, a type of thing where we’re happy to provide the guidance and direction when you need it.
If you’re in a good place and you don’t need us for a month, that’s okay as well.
I think it’s just we’re here.
We’re kind of on call and available.
Emma
Yeah, definitely.
I think it’s great for those growing businesses.
You know, we’ve kind of talked about, okay, what are those points that you need to bring in a CFO?
Well, maybe you’re hitting some of them, but not all of them.
You’re seeing the need for some assistance, but not a full-time hire.
This fractional model is so helpful for the growing business.
And just like you said, to bring in that support as needed, and you never know, it could uncover additional support that’s needed for a client.
Mark
That I actually helped on, it was kind of a, we knew it was a temporary fill-in, where the currency of O was kind of going to be put on special assignment for various strategic purposes with the business.
And they basically contracted me to come through there and help basically sit in his chair and keep the month-to-month close and reporting and team morale, you know, going enhancements where needed.
And there were a couple of times when he would reach out with other things outside of the day-to-day just to get my opinion on something.
So again, it was like the buddy system, where he had somebody available for a quick question that he wanted to kind of bounce off of in terms of another financial arm.
So, you know, again, it was a six month like time where he was set up on a special assignment.
And then after that period, it just transitioned right back to him.
And I think, you know, those offerings, they come up where maybe somebody needs to take a temporary leave and needs a temporary fill-in for those types of offerings.
We can certainly help out with those.
Emma
Yeah, definitely.
You know, and I want to. Admittedly, this segment is a bit of a shameless plug, but one thing we do differently at DHJJ is, you know, we’re not just fractional CFOs.
We have so many other offerings.
So, can you tell me a little bit about how our integrated approach helps clients?
Mark
Absolutely.
And again, just touching on with my time here at DHJJ, I’ve seen it where,
You know, internally, we’re working on the client, and it could be from the M&A side, right?
Maybe they’re looking to be close to retirement.
So we’ll flip that opportunity to our financial planning and advisory services for retirement planning, outside of once you sell your business.
It could be something as we talked about before with tax, where maybe they have R&D credit considerations.
they might have a full-time tax accountant, but if they use us internally and we can provide obviously for planning purposes that R&D credit and how we would want to manage the accounting for that and isolate those costs so you can easily identify, that’s where we harmonize between our departments of assurance, tax, the accounting services side, where I’m at for Fractional CFO, and then our financial advisors.
It’s kind of like we all really work well together, and we play off of each other’s strengths in terms of if I don’t know something, there’s probably likely somebody inside DHHA that does.
So we put those questions out to each other for a response and feedback on
Emma
It sounds like clients aren’t just getting one fractional CFO; they’re getting a team, they’re getting everyone’s knowledge, which is great.
I would say from our conversation today, if there’s one theme, it’s that thinking like a CFO means being forward-looking, strategic, and proactive.
What’s one thing a business owner could do this quarter to start moving in that direction?
Mark
Yeah, I think, as I said earlier in the segments, if you’re having unanswered questions with either yourself or again, people at work that are around financial topics, and you really think that there’s a way we can help.
That’s the best one you want to be reaching out to.
I think if you’re hearing topics of question for, you know, again, will this benefit my business, yes or no, and you can’t really find the resources within your available network, that’s when DHJJ is here to provide some guidance and assist with those types of questions.
Emma
Mark, before we wrap up today, I like to ask my guests, you know, if there is one thing from this conversation that you really want to, you know, drive that point home and make sure someone walks away with the most valuable piece of information, what would that be?
Mark
Yeah, I think, Emma, for that, I’ve got to go with, if you don’t set a budget today.
You should be setting a budget tomorrow for the year ahead.
You know it’s going to be wrong, but at least it’s something that holds you accountable, and it’s something to work towards in terms of that goal.
And I think with that, it might take time, but you’ll probably learn from it.
And I think for that effort, you’ll probably see something out of the back end for sure.
Emma
Well, thank you so much, Mark, for being here today and talking through this with me.
I really appreciate you being a guest, and I think that you have given such valuable insight to the importance of having a CFO, whether that’s a full-time hire or it’s a fractional CFO, and like we said, the importance of strategic thinking and forward thinking and those budgets.
So thank you again so much.
To all of our listeners, if you are out there thinking, we may be at that point, a great first step is to take a closer look, like Mark said, at your budgets and your forecasts and ask yourself if it’s actually helping you make those decisions or just reporting on what already happened.
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